Harness



(No Model.) HARNESS.

No. 538,326. PatentedAprgs'o, 1895.

me Nonms Pzsns ca, Pnomutno, WASI-mum D. c

UNITED STATI-2s 'PATENT' OFFICE,

WILLIAM D. FREDERICK, or PEoRIA, ILLINOIS.

HARNESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 538,326, dated April 80, 1895.

Application filed November 12,1894. Serial No, 528,479. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern/.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D. FREDERICK, a citizen of the United States, residing yat Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements inA Speeding Attachments for Harness; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in speeding attachmentsfor harness, by means of which a simple attachment is provided which is very eflicient for the purpose designed.

More particularly my invention relates to that class of harness especially adapted to be used for track purposes and in speeding horses, and the objects to be obtained are, the

- dispensing with the breast collar and breeching, the holding of the sulky under such tension as will prevent any jarring motion, to provide by its use, a ,gaiting device without having to use any additional or supplemental attachments, and to provide such an attachment for speeding purposes possessing all of the above features of advantage and such an one may be adapted to any harness saddle without making any fixed connection therewith, but making it attachable and detachable in the very simplest manner.

My invention consists essentially in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and specifically pointed out in the claims.

That my invention may be more fully understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure'l is a side elevation of my speeding attachment for harness as applied to a horse and sulky. Fig. 2 is a detailed View showing a portion'of my speeding attachment. Fig. 3 is a detailed view showing an end view of a portion of my attachment. Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the line x of Fig. l.

The harness is adapted to be used in connection with the ordinary bridle, but the breast v plate or collar and usual breeching and the customary traces are dispensed with.

vIn the figures, A refersto the ordinary harness saddle, which is made in the usual way and consists of the several parts including among other things, a steel yoke that bears through the central and top portion of the saddle and is embedded between the several layers of the different materials employed in constructing a saddle, of the usual terrets as a, the shaft bearers b, the belly girth c, the shaft straps d, dac.

Referring to my speeding attachment particularly, B-B, are side pieces thereof, which are connected at their upper extremities by strapsC, which said straps bear over the top of the harness saddle in such a manner as to suspend the side pieces B--l e-e, are slots or elongated openings in the side pieces B-B, through which theterrets as ot, are passed. In attaching my device upon the harness saddle, these slots may be 7o made of such length, if desired, as to adapt them for connection with any kind of harness, thus making up by the lengthening of the slots, for any differences in position of the terrets upon the various kinds of harness saddle.

D-D, are extensions from the side pieces Bef-B, to which the thill straps E are connected by suitable rings, there being provided upon the ends of the thill straps suitable ferrules 8o or sockets as F, which said ferrules or sockets are designed to be slipped over the ends ot' the sulky shafts to hold the same from forward projection, the said thill straps being connected with the side pieces B, at their lower 8 5 ends, or rather, to the projection D-D, therefrom, which said extensions have -a'diagonal downward bearing, the thill straps also hav` ing a diagonal downward bearing until they connect with ferrules or sockets F-F. 9o

G-G, are trace straps which also connect Y with the side pieces BB, or to one of the extensions D therefrom, by means of a suitable ring, and extend diagonally downwardly and rearwardly, and may be made to overlap and buckle to provide for the shortening or lengthening thereof and are also provided at their rear ends with one, two or more holes as t', as may be desired for connection with studs or hooks on the shafts or thills or to hooks upon roo a Whiftie-tree in the usual way.

n, is an opening in the lower end of each side piece B, which opening is located on the under side of the side pieces, and through v 53me which the shaft bearersb are passed, which materially assistsin holding the side pieces B--B, in proper position.

It will be seen from the matter'presented herein, that from the ordinary harness there have been omitted the usual heavy traces, breast plate or collarand breeehing, andthe saddle may be made extremely light, so that the horse may move very freely and still be I'o held securely in connection with the sulky.

In applying my device to practical use, as previously stated, theV ordinary bridle .and

lines are used, also the ordinary saddle, back strap and crupper; the usual belly band,

shaft support and shaft straps also being used, theybeingconnectedwiththesaddlebymeatls of the usual shaft bearers as IJ. My speed-ing attachment is applied for practical use by simply carrying the same over the harness 2o saddle in the manner shown in the drawings and passing the terrets of thevharness saddle through the slots e, in the side pieces B-B, and by passing the shaft bearers1b,through the openings on the under side of the said side pieces. The sulky is-connected with the harness iu the usual way by being passed through the shaftloops supported-bythe shaft bearers in the usualr manner and by the shaft straps el being passed, one turn in front and 3o one behind the said loops,thelsaid harness being girted tight upon thehorse.

My speeding attachment is connected with the sulky by the ferrules orl sockets F--F thereof being passed over the ends of the shafts and by the trace straps G-G being connected with studs or hooks on the shafts or thills and by the thill straps and trace straps being lengthened or shortened to provide for the desired amount of tension underhwhich it 4o may be purposed that the sulky shall beheld,

in connection with the harness saddle.

It will of course be understood that neither the harness proper nor my attach mentis purposed to draw or pull the sulky, the sulky be ing pulled or drawn by the lines in the hands of the driver, the sole object of the harness and the attachment being simply to provide a connection betweenthe horse and the sulky that will be firm and non-shifting.

5o I am aware that harness has been-made in which the usual breast plate or collar, breeching and heavy traces are supplemented by the use of thill straps and tracestraps connecting with the sulky practically in 'the same manner as I connect them but I am not awareof any such thill straps and trace straps being used in connection with a wholly separate and independent part adapted for attachment to and detachment from the harness saddle in 6o the manner I have shown; the usual way being to make the attachment of the thill straps audtrace straps with the harness saddleor with some supplemental part of the saddle, ridged, by sewing or by other xed connection.

The construction I employ is a wholly separate device that may be attached `to or detached from any harness and does not constitute a part of a special harness that must be madein connection therewith, as is the case with other such harness employing speeding devices of this class.

By this supplemental attachment and by the connection thereof with the ordinary harness saddle, I am enabled to obviate accidents resulting from breaking of the saddle or4 the f yoke thereof, which often happens under -of a horse is obviated, it being held firmly to lthe horse.

It answers asa safety device as just above explained when the harness saddle breaks. It does awayfwith any supplemental gaiting device, it serving the purpose admirably and holds the horse straight, without any added means `or supplemental attach` ment. The one side or the other of the harness may be dra-wn tighterup to the horse on one side for closer bearing than on the other side, asis desired in many cases to overcome slight irregularities in gait or side bearing tendencies of a horse, and I am able to attach it to any harness without marring or straining the i same, and do nothave to have a special harness to connect it with as it may be attached g to any harness. The arrangement of the parts is such that the connection between the harness saddle and the speeding attachment is very firm and non-shifting, and the connection with the thill straps and shaft straps is at the middle points of the sides of the harness saddle, so that any draw or push, that would causel a `tendency to shift, is resisted most effectually from this connection by the `bearing of the entire side of the saddle against the horses body, While if the attachment were made lower down upon the sides of the saddle not so much resistance would 'be offered to such tendency to shift.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A speeding, attachment for harness consisting of a pair of straps located upon', opposite sides of the horse, as shown, and having `their forward and rear ends secured to the shafts of the vehicle and a supplemental yoke bearing over and upon the harness saddle and provided with long slots through the body of the sides thereof for the reception of the terrets, inicombination with the harness saddle and detachable therefrom, all substantially as described and shown.

2. In a speeding attachment for harness, the straps E, provided with sockets F and the straps G, for attachment to the shafts of a vehicle, in combination with the supplemental IOC l'IO

IZO

back strap detachably connected with the harness saddle and shaft bearers, consisting of the side pieces, B, having the long slots e, for the reception of the terrets and the openings n, for the reception of the shaft bearers and the strap C bearing over the saddle and connecting the side pieces, all substantially as described and shown.

3. In a speeding attachment for harness, the combination, with shaft bearers and a harness saddle, of thill straps E, provided with sockets F and shaft stra-ps G, with the back strap consisting of side-pieces B-B, connected by strap C, bearing over the top of the harness saddle, and formed with the di- 15 agonal downwardly bearing extensions D-D, and provided with slots e and openings n, through which the terrets and shaft bearers of the harness saddle are passed in securing the attachment, all substantially as described and shown.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM D. FREDERICK.

Witnesses:

J. E. FREDERICK, BERT H. RoszELL. 

